idioms using “wheel”

Grease the wheels

To help things run smoothly and successfully

“Low interest rates greased the wheels of the Japanese economy.”

A big wheel

An important or powerful person

“We are cleaning the office today because the big wheels are coming in from New York for a meeting.”

Reinvent the wheel

To needlessly waste time creating something new that already exists

“If someone would write a training manual, we wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel every time we train a new employee.”

Spin one’s wheels

To work but make no progress

“We’ve been spinning our wheels on this project for months.”

Set the wheels in motion

To begin a plan or project

“After months of delay, we set the wheels in motion to sell the company to our competitor.”